Beauty Confronts Beasts to Save Children

Radio talk show host Jerry Doyle occasionally plays a humorous montage of audio clips in which various officials pull on America’s heart strings by claiming we must support their pet political projects to show we “care about the children.” The rallying cry of “do it for the children” is perhaps the most overused and insincere tactic used by politicians, celebrities, and special interest groups to produce guilt that will move people to vote for measures that have little, if anything, to do with children. Beauty pageant contestants are notorious for their shallow monologues reminding viewers that “the children are our future” as the contestants pledge to make “helping the children” a lifelong ambition if chosen as Miss America, Miss USA, etc. Finally we have a Miss America who gets down and dirty (almost literally) to protect children.

Current Miss America Lauren Nelson (second from right) volunteered to participate in a joint “honey pot” operation organized by the Suffolk County Police Department and Fox’s “America’s Most Wanted” television program, in which she posed in Internet chat rooms as a 14 year old girl, including posting pictures of herself as a teenager. Nelson was astonished how quickly she was propositioned by online child predators who wanted to meet her (and more). It is one thing to sit behind a desk and act as bait, but it takes remarkable courage to volunteer for the next level of the operation, actually meeting these sick pedophiles when they come at the appointed time to a site chosen and secured by law enforcement.

Nelson demonstrated sincere dedication to her favorite issue, Internet safety for children, standing on the porch of the police-monitored home and inviting predators to enter. Once inside, Nelson slipped out a back door and the pedophiles were confronted by John Walsh of “America’s Most Wanted” and police officers who affected the arrests. According to the AP report, this sting operation netted four Internet predators, but as Nelson discovered:

"As many as we caught on that day, there are a lot more out there," she said. "It's nice to know that they were chatting with police officers and me rather than a 14- or 15-year-old girl."

There will undoubtedly be critics who will claim her participation was a publicity stunt captured on film to boost the image of Miss America pageants and contestants, but such criticisms would be off the mark. Film crews or not, neither Nelson nor the Suffolk County PD knew what the predators would do at the scene, nor could they know whether these criminals would be carrying weapons. Even with police officers monitoring her every word and watching from another room via hidden cameras, a frightened or suspicious predator could have drawn a weapon and harmed or killed Nelson before the officers could have reacted to prevent it. She literally placed herself in physical danger as bait to protect actual children from ever being in her place. That is courage, and it should be lauded and emulated.

For the full story, click here “Miss America Helps Cops in Sex Sting”.